Organic Gardening Information: Heeling In Your Crops
Organic Gardening Information: Heeling In Your Crops
Sometimes it is hard to sift through all the organic gardening information to find out what to do with your crops when you have had a successful harvest and you do not have space to store them all in the refrigerator. Here we look at the traditional method of ‘heeling in’.
Why Heel In Your Crops?
In the late fall you may find that you have more of many vegetables than you can eat or give away. You would love to store them until spring. Some will survive the winter in the ground, but depending on your climate, you may lose others to frost damage.
Heeling in allows you to store vegetables out in your garden while protecting them from the worst of the weather. It stops them growing while simulating their growing conditions, prevents slugs from feasting on the tops and also makes space in the garden so that you can dig your beds and plant your early spring crops.
How To Heel In
Lift your vegetables and cut off the dry tops or leaves. Dig a V-shaped trench in a sheltered, weed free spot in the garden, breaking down any large clumps of soil that you dig out. You may want to choose a location close to the house where the vegetables will be easy to access. Lay the plants in the trench, close together, with the root in the bottom of the trench and the tops pointing up.
Loosely replace the soil, covering the roots and part of the stem. Press the soil down with your heel to give the vegetables a firm hold. Water them.
Finally, cover the trench with straw to prevent the ground from freezing hard. This way you can easily dig them up as and when you want them.
What To Heel In
Leeks do particularly well if heeled in. In some cases they will keep for up to 3 months this way. If left in the ground, they can be difficult to dig up and they will suffer from damage in frosty or waterlogged ground.
Celery root or celeriac can also benefit from this method. Take them when they are the right size for eating, cut off the tops and store them a trench in the same way.
Parsnips do not need to be heeled in, because they like the frost. In fact, many people believe that parsnips should never be harvested before the first frost because it gives them an added flavor. But you can heel them in if you need the space.
Heeling in also has ecological benefits. The alternative for most people is either to waste the food, or run an extra refrigerator to store it all. Our organic gardening information aims to help you enjoy the best from your garden and benefit the environment too.
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